Ventilator



May 9, 1939. c. c. HOPKINS VENT I LATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 17, 1 937 May 9, 1939. c. c. HOPKINS VENTILATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 Filed May 1'7. 1937 Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED) STATES PATENT 1-.0FF-ICE v i.-, VENTILAT O E, Constant 'e. Hopkins,"Woodstock 'lIL, assignor or onefli'alf to Percy H. Waller, Chicago, Ill. Application my, 17,. 1937 Serial No. 142,914

The present invention. relates to a ventilator. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved ventilator'which'; combines extreme efiiciency in handling=a=relatively large quantity of air free from dust, moisture and other impurities, with a form and dimensions adaptable particularly to modern streamrline requirements.

, Another object of this invention is the provi.- sion of an imprcvedvventilator of .highly simplified construction which will effectually prevent ingress or passage to the space being ventilated of cinders, dust particles, moisture, snow orlight rays. p Yet another object of thisinventlon is to provide a ventilator particularly adaptable for use in connection witha vehicle and which'projects only a short distance upon the exterior .of' the vehicle and is so formed as-to divert. the air flow, due to the motion of the vehicle, thereabout and prevent in great measure the direct impingement of sand, dirt, snow, rain, etc.,-thus greatly elim inatingthe normal susceptibility of such devices to surface wear. Numerous other objects andadvantages will more fully appear during the course and'progress of the following specification." Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a ventilator constructed in accordance with the present in-' vention.

Fig. 2 is-a sectional elevationtaken on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

Fig.3 is'a plan view taken on the line 3- -3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a bottom'plan view of :the device shown in Fig. 2. l

Fig. 5 is adetail sectional elevation taken on the line 5-5 in Fig. 4'.

Fig. 6 is a sectionalelevation taken through an alternative typeof.;ventilator embodying the present invention.

. The ventilators, selected for the purpose. of illustrating the present invention, comprisea' tubular ventilating shaft H] which may be secured to theroof l2 or any other convenient portion of the enclosure to. be ventilated. The roof. shown inFigsal and 2 may comprise, for example, the top of a railway car althoughit will'be obvious that the device may equally well be. applied to an ordinary building. ,The ventilating shaftl0 comprises, in the embodimentshown, a cylindrical tube having rigidly secured to its outer wall at-an intermediate point along the length of the shaft an annularangle member UL;

This angle member provides an outwardly projecting portionforming an annular flange adapted tobe fastened securely to the roof -I2-thr ough the agency' of screws-l6.

The ventilatingshaft- I0 is extended a substantial distance above the plane ofthe-roof l2 to form; an upstanding annular, wall l8 'which functions as a bailie andis-important to the maintenance otsproper ventilation without the introduction of; moisturedust particles and other 10 contaminating materials. .At a point spaced from the inpper edge-of the wall I8 an annular fiangeill extends outwardly from. the shaft .in a transverse, direction, being secured rigidly in assembled position by means of the downwardly projecting portion'fl, indicated more clearly in Fig.2,fwhichis. heldrigid with the-shaft and the angle member M by welding, brazing, riveting or anyother-suitable fastening means; The flange 20, at a point spaced at predetermined distance from the wall- [8, is bent upwardsha'rply to form the vertical annular :wa-ll 24 generally parallel to the wall l 8::shown-in Fig;- 2. I I ,Y .Over the .entire protruding' assembly is'positioneda, dome 26 1 which is preferably shaped in. a'gentle curve soas to provide-a pleasing. exter nal appearance. and inhibitiindesired turbulence of flow within the'ventilator." Th'e'domeZ-B, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, is provided with a downwardly 30 projecting, annular-wall 28 which is secured in placedflby -a turned-over flange 3U weld'ed or riveted to the inner face of I the dome. It will be apparentiromwthe figures that the annular wall 28 isso positionedtas to project downwardly intermc'diateof the upstanding walls l8 -and'24.

' The dome assembly is supported and spaced a predetermined distance above the ventilating shaft assembly by means of a plurality of suitableabrackets'l '-As"f shown in" the figures, the

brackets .32 are fourin number and are circumferentiallyspaced about the annular flange 20.- Eacli comprises a relatively narrow metallic strip having horizontally extending legs 34 secured to the flange 20 by'm'eans of rivets 38. The upstanding legs 38 are'secured to the downwardly projecting .wal'l 28-by-means ot-rivets-IO. In the embodiment shown, the bottom edge of the wall 28 will be positioned a predetermined distance abovethe flange: 20,-the'. upper edges ofthc. walls I I8 and 24 being spaced-aigenerally corresponding distance .belowthe under surface of 'the dome 26 to permit the passage of air;

It will be noted that inthe preferred embodimentthe upstanding legs-38 of the brackets are arranged generally intermediate of the walls I8 and 24. In this position the openings above the said walls remain unconstricted by a supporting means at all points around their periphery.

A plurality of apertures 42 are also circumferentially spaced about the flange 20. These apertures constitute weep-holes and perform the function of conveying off any moisture or foreign.

matter which might be conveyed by the air draft or permitted to accumulate in the annular space between the walls [8 and 24.

Means are provided in the preferred embodiment to sustain a forced draft of air through the ventilator and comprise an electric motor 44 having a driving shaft 46 to which is fixedly secured an impeller 48 for rotation therewith. The impeller 48 is adapted to operate after the fashion of a centrifugal pump or blower and has centrally thereof a plurality of apertures 50 adjacent its outer edge, being provided with a plurality of radial vanes 52.

In operation, the rapidly rotated impeller draws the air through the apertures 50 and drives it radially. According to the present preferred embodiment, the impeller is located just under the dome 26 and closely adjacent the under surface thereof so that the air draft is impelled directly into the space above the upper end of the wall l8. It will be apparent that the present device may be readily adapted to a reversal of action by drawing the air inwardly instead of forcing it outwardly above the wall l8.

The motor 44 may be supported by any suitable means, as shown in Fig. 2, being engaged by a clamping member 54 supported by means of resilient rubber blocks 56 and opposed legs 58 fastened to the ceiling 60 of the chamber to be ventilated through the agency of screws 62.

Draft control means is preferably provided 'on the interior of the wall 60, as shown more in detail in Figs. 2 and 4, the said control means comprising a plate 64 suitably fastened to the wall and provided with a plurality of apertures 66. A butterfly valve disk 68, provided with a plurality of correspondingly formed apertures 10, is supported rotatably in a plane adjacent to the plane of the plate 64 by a resiliently mounted pivot 72. Handle means 14 permits ready adjustment of the disk 68 about the pivot 72 for the purpose of controlling the effective size of the openings to the ventilating shaft 10.

In operation, it will be apparent that the air draft passing through the upper portion of the ventilator must necessarily move adjacent four alternate and oppositely disposed baffles. Thus, when the motor 44 isactuated by a suitable electric switch (not shown) to drive the impeller 48 in the manner aforementioned, a draft of air is forced radially through the space above the wall I8, impinging directly upon the wall 28 and having its direction of flow sharply changed. Again, as the air draft reaches the flange 20, another sharp change in fiow takes place in a radial direction. Following this, after striking the wall 24 and again the inner surface of the dome 26, the air is finally released to the outside atmosphere. These repeated reversals of the stream lines are thought to be responsible for the improved operation of the present devicewhereby ventilation is enabled with complete absence of ingress of rain, dust particles and the like.

The operative advantages remain substantially the same whether the motor 44 is in operation or at rest. So, too, with the action reversed so that the motor 44 operates to draw the air inwardly of the shaft I 0 from outside of the dome 26, it has been found that only relatively pure air will be delivered, separated'from any substantial particles in the exterior atmosphere.

The alternative preferred embodiment, shown more in detail in Fig. 6, comprises the same general structure as described above, omitting the annular depending wall 28 and the electrically driven impeller. When employing the present device, it is a simple matter to insert the motor 44 and its associated structure since the brackets 58 may be separate from the remainder of the device and may at any time be held permanently in operative position by merely fastening the screws 62 in the ceiling 60.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 6, moreover, provides for the'support of the dome member 26 by means of a plurality of brackets 16 welded .or riveted to the under surface of the dome and adapted to register with the brackets 32 for securement rigidly therewith as by welding or the like. According to this embodiment, an outstanding annular flange 20 is rigidly secured to the central ventilator shaft I!) through the agency of a turned-over portion rigidly fastened to the outer wall thereof. So, also, the present embodiment provides a pairv of generally parallel walls or bafiles l8 and 24. Where it is highly im portant to prevent passage of dust and foreign matter under the dome, an annular, downwardly projecting baffle may be situated on the brackets 16.

The present invention provides a highly efficient and improved ventilating device particularly adapted for railway car ventilation. The

outer shape of the dome ,m'ember, shell or coverplate, due to its modest dimensions, lends itself to the modern stream-line design conventional in this art. Moreover, the particular novel structure and arrangement of parts permits a proportioning of the exterior parts such that the ventilator does not necessarily project any considerable distance from the roof or wall of the car. Thus, the normal wearing of the exterior portions, due to the impact of flying sand, grit, rain, snow and thelike has been found to be greatly minimized. According to the present invention, these advantages are all attained with no sacrifice as to the efficiency of the ventilator, or its ability to separate foreign particles.

The instant ventilator furthermore is suitable to act, either as an exhaust, or intake ventilator with or without a power unit and under all conditions is perfectly weather-proof. These advantages render it ideal, not only in connection with railway cars as aforementioned. but with all other vehicles such as aeroplanes, motor cars and ships. .It will be obvious from the above that the present ventilator is also extremely advantageous in the ventilation of homes, photographers dark rooms, telephone booths and the like.

It is thought that the invention and numerous of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it is obvious that numerous changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the' several parts without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, or sacrificing any of its attendant advantages, the form herein described being a preferred embodiment for the purpose of illustrating the invention.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. In a ventilator, a shaft, a flange projecting from the side of said shaft and terminating ina bent-over portion extending generally in the direction of said shaft and spaced therefrom wherebyto form generally parallel baffle walls, and a dome member extending across the end of said shaft and having an edge bent to extend in a direction substantially opposite to the direction of said baffle walls and enclosing said end and said baflles.

2. In a ventilator, a tubular shaft, an annular flange projecting from the wall of said shaft and terminating in a bent-over portion spaced from the wall and extending from the flange generally in the direction of said wall whereby to form generally parallel, spaced baffles, a dome member extending across the\end of the shaft, said dome havinga substantially concave inner wall provided with edges extending in a direction generally oppositely to said baffles and having an edge enclosing said end and the free ends of said baffles, and an annular bailie wall interiorly of said dome spaced from said edge and extending in a generally opposite direction to and between the previously mentioned baflles.

3. In a ventilator, an upwardly extending, central tubular shaft, an annular flange projecting outwardly from the shaft at a point spaced from the upper end thereof, said flange terminating in an upwardly extending annular wall spaced from the shaft, a dome substantially enclosing the upper end of the shaft, said dome having a gen-- erally concave lower configuration and having a lower edge extending downwardly about and below the upper edge of said annular wall, and a further wall formed on the lower surface of said dome member and extending downwardly into dome into the space between the first mentioned baffle and the shaft but spaced from the flange, and a plurality of apertures formed in said flange to provide weep-holes for entrapped moisture.

5. In a ventilator, a ventilator shaft, a flange extending outwardly from the wall of said shaft at a point spaced from the end thereof and terminating in a bent-over portion spaced from and generally parallel with the wall of the shaft, a dome member extending about the end of the shaft and enclosing the end of the shaft and the end of said bent-over portion, and bracket members extending from the flange and supporting the dome at a predetermined distance from the end of the shaft.

6. In a ventilator, a ventilator shaft, a flange extending outwardly from the wall of the shaft at a point spaced from the end thereof and terminating in a bent-over portion spaced from and extending generally toward the end of the shaft, a dome member arranged across said end and having an edge extending about said end and said bent-over portion and being arranged to extend in a substantially opposite direction to said end and said-bent-over portion; a baffle member arranged on the inner face of the dome member and projecting toward the space between the shaft and the bent-over portion, and brackets projecting-from the flange to support the dome at a predetermined position with respect to the shaft.

7. In a ventilator, a tubular ventilating shaft, a dome member across the end of the shaft and having an edge formed about and enclosing said end of the shaft, the dome being spaced a predetermined distance from said end to provide a space for the movement of a ventilating draft,

and a centrifugal air draft impeller arranged with its axis generally co-extensive with that of the shaft and being situated closely adjacent the interior side of the dome member, said impeller having vanes adapted to force a draft of air radially of its axis and directly through the said space.

CONSTANT C. HOPKINS. 

